


The Cossacks Go To The Beach

by cassowarykisses



Category: Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 12:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11805942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassowarykisses/pseuds/cassowarykisses
Summary: Dr. Cossack has a new Robot Master to be tested, so he does the obvious - go on a road trip with his family.





	The Cossacks Go To The Beach

**Author's Note:**

> It's not plot-important, but this story takes place in the Archie Comics Mega Man universe, and small details related to the comics may be mentioned.

“Are we there yet?”

“We’ll get there when we get there,” Pharaoh Man replied, without looking up from his book.

Dr. Cossack sighed, and glanced at the pedometer. They still had a couple of hours left to drive until they reached the Black Sea, even after their flight. “Kalinka, put on your headphones and try tuning into the radio on your phone again.”

“But it keeps going all staticky!” she protested.

Dr. Cossack glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw Kalinka pouting. “Now, you know it skips directly to the next available channel. Back in my day, we had to adjust the dial manually – “

“There’s nothing out here but old people music!” Kalinka said. “Whenever I find a good station, it starts breaking up after a minute. I haven’t gotten to hear _any_ of my favorite songs.”

“Well, it’s hardly my fault you forgot to transfer your music over to your new phone,” he replied.

“Pharaoh Man was supposed to –“

“Was I now,” Pharaoh Man said flatly.

He could hear Kalinka shift in the back seat. “Pharaoh Man! You can’t think this music is _good_ , can you?”

There was a pause. “. . . It’s certainly music.” Pharaoh Man said.

Ah. He doubted Pharaoh Man had put any kind of resources towards developing a taste in music. He certainly had the capability – he’d had the darndest time, trying to program a sense of aesthetics into a robot to help him judge the quality and origin of archaeological discoveries – but Pharaoh hadn’t been interested in music, not like Light’s robots. Though Dr. Cossack could hardly be disappointed. He’d been showing a particular interest in architecture lately, after their visit to the Lanfront Ruins. The kind of quality it took to preserve intact traps for so long, and in that humidity, he’d said, was something worth trying to replicate.

Pharaoh Man’s voice snapped him out of his mental tangent, and he refocused on the road while he listened to his children argue in the back seat. “Listen, Kalinka,” Pharaoh Man was saying, “What if I read you some of my book?”

“Is it one of the boring ones again?” Kalinka sounded doubtful.

“No!” Pharaoh Man said, and then amended, “Well, none of them are boring to me. But I think you’d like this one. It’s fiction, for once. Come here – “

Dr. Cossack could hear him move in the back seat, and Kalinka giggle. “Both of you stay buckled in,” he called, without taking his eyes off the road. “Traffic is clear now, but I don’t want either of you taking risks.”

“Don’t worry, sir,” Pharaoh Man said. “I wouldn’t let Kalinka do that.” Dr. Cossack looked back over his shoulder as he changed lanes, and saw the two of them had leaned in across the middle seat so Kalinka could see the book. Pharaoh Man met his eyes, and wrapped his arm around Kalinka to further secure her.

Kalinka giggled. “Stop it, Pharaoh,” she whispered.

“No.” Pharaoh Man replied.

“You’re my little brother, you have to do what I say,” Kalinka said.

“Not according to your father,” Pharaoh Man replied.

“Do what your older brother says,” Dr. Cossack said, and chuckled.

Kalinka groaned and dropped her head into her arms. Pharaoh Man said, “That’s what I thought.”

“Just read the book,” she said, muffled by the fabric of her sleeves. “Are there any princesses?”

Pharaoh Man considered for a moment. “Two, I think,” he said. “Maybe three, but the third one isn’t important.”

“Okay,” Kalinka said. “It can’t be that bad if there are two princesses in it.”

“Of course not,” Pharaoh Man said. “Now, this book is in English, so this will be a good chance for you to practice some less common words. It takes place during the reign of – “

Dr. Cossack smiled as Pharaoh Man started to read. He absentmindedly tuned it out, only interrupted by Kalinka’s occasional vocabulary questions as he drove closer and closer towards their destination.

***

“The beach!” Kalinka cheered as she hopped out of the car next to the cabin they were staying in.

“Stay close,” Dr. Cossack and Pharaoh Man said at the same time.

“I don’t want to go anywhere!” Kalinka protested as she leaned up against Dr. Cossack as he opened the back doors of the van they had arrived in.

“You need to move out of the way, my darling,” Dr. Cossack grunted as he slid the lever to operate the wheelchair lift operating as an impromptu unloading dock forwards.

Pharaoh Man placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her back a couple of feet, then looked up at Dr. Cossack. “Is there anything you need me to do, sir?” he asked.

Dr. Cossack shook his head. “Just help me get it inside when the lift is down.” He eyed the heavy wooden crate onboard the lift with anticipation, and Pharaoh Man stepped back towards the front of the van to remove the last of their suitcases.

Kalinka clapped her hands together. “I can’t wait to meet him!” she said. “We can talk, we can swim together – “

“Not in this weather you won’t!” Dr. Cossack exclaimed, and Kalinka shook her head, curls flying.

“I know that, Papa!” she said. “We can walk on the beach, then, and I can tell him about the water.”

“Not without sunscreen you won’t,” Pharaoh Man said, appearing behind Kalinka.

“I don’t need it when I’m wearing my jacket,” Kalinka said, and held out her arms as if for inspection.

Pharaoh Man leaned in a little closer and tapped her on the forehead. “You’ll still need it for your face.”

“You can help me put it on, then,” Kalinka said.

“I’ll do that right before your father starts the tests, so you can watch and help out,” Pharaoh Man promised.

Kalinka grinned up at him and hugged him. “You know I’d go anyway,” she said.

“Yes, I do,” Pharaoh Man said, and patted her on the back. “Are you ready, sir?” he called to Dr. Cossack.

“Almost,” Dr. Cossack said, and turned to watch them. “I’ll need your help to maneuver it.”

He grinned at the two of his children in front of him. “I hope the two of you are ready to get up bright and early tomorrow morning. Dive Man won’t test himself!”

***

Later that night, Pharaoh Man set up his charging station in the room he was sharing with Kalinka. He could survive entirely off of solar energy, but Dr. Cossack saw no reason not to give him alternate methods of recharging, and he made sure to carry a wall charger and an E-tank with him whenever he left the citadel. He could hardly predict the weather, and it was better safe than sorry, after all.

He looked up to see Kalinka watching him. “Do you need a pillow?” she asked. “Dive Man’s in the other bedroom, the one that Papa’s not in, and he’s still asleep in his crate so he doesn’t need any of them.”

“You can pick one out for me,” he said. He sat back against the wall as Kalinka hopped off the bed and darted into the other room. He didn’t even strictly need to recharge tonight, but he liked to stay prepared for anything.

Kalinka came in smiling, with a pillow tucked underneath each arm.

“Here, Pharaoh!” she said.

“Thank you,” he said. He leaned over to take the pillows just as Kalinka threw them in his general direction, hitting him on his helmet. “Hey!” he said indignantly as Kalinka giggled.

“You’re not going to throw them back?” she asked, as she knelt down on the carpet in front of him.

“Pillow fights are undignified,” Pharaoh Man replied. He picked up his tablet from where it lay next to his charging station.

“Oh, come on!” Kalinka said. She hit him in the arm with a pillow, and scrambled away out of arm’s reach.

Pharaoh Man frowned at her. “I’m trying to read.”

“Not anymore!” Kalinka said cheerfully, and hit him again. This time, Pharaoh Man raised his tablet in time to block.

“Kalinka –“ he started to say, then gave up and grabbed a pillow. Throwing a pillow, he reasoned, hardly violated the First Law.

“Yes!” Kalinka cheered, and hopped from foot to foot. “Get up, Pharaoh Man! This isn’t any fun when you’re still sitting down.”

Pharaoh Man sighed, and made a show of standing up, but couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice. “Only for you.” He had to admit, it was good to see Kalinka so happy. He knew it could get lonely for her back home, even with the online school Dr. Cossack had enrolled her in and the Robot Masters always around. A vacation, even if it was for work, was surely a welcome change.

He held up his pillow, ready for Kalinka to pounce, but was interrupted by the door opening.

“What’s this noise?” asked Dr. Cossack. He stepped into the room, and took in the scene – Kalinka, perched on the bed, a pillow in each hand, and Pharaoh Man in the middle of the room, holding another pillow, both frozen in place – and burst out laughing.

“Oh, Kalinka, my darling, were you really going to do this without your papa?” he said, and bent down to pick up one of the pillows Kalinka had thrown at Pharaoh Man earlier. He grinned, and crossed the room to swing at Kalinka.

Kalinka darted away, laughing, and hid behind Pharaoh Man. He shifted his weight, and said to Kalinka, “You throw the pillows, and I’ll block them. I’m a bigger target.”

Kalinka looked up at him and grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”


End file.
